Black Gold
by Plantress
Summary: Most of Sanctuary believes that the Black Saints are gone. They are wrong.  The Black Saints that had been seen so far had been Bronze Black Saints.  There are much higher ranks waiting in the wings, and they are not about to make the same mistakes.


A/N: The Black Gold series has a story behind it. In February of '11 I was chatting with another Saint Seiya fan and the conversation turned to the Black Saints. What they were, where they had come from, why the looked like copies of the Bronze Saints...the usual. One thing that was wondered about was if there were Black copies of more than just the Bronze Saints. I jokingly said there might even be a Black Saint that repaired Cloth like Mu does.

That idea stuck with me long after the conversation was over with. That night, using Mu's design as a base, I drew a Black Aries Saint. I had fun with it, and since other people seemed to enjoy him, I decided that I would draw more Black Gold Saints. Since just recoloring the Gold Saints would get boring, I decided to make new designs for the Black Gold Saints. As I was making these designs, they suddenly started developing personalities, and a story behind them. The Black Gold Saints became a group, one with Black Sagittarius Dugald as their leader. I slowly built up why each Black Saint followed him and what their overall goal was. I dislike cookie-cutter villains that are just evil for the sake of being evil. This group would have a purpose.

Thus I started working on the Black Gold fics. A series of scenes about the Black Gold Saints that would talk about their characters and their goals. This is just the first.

oOOo

Dugald like to think of his study as his refuge in the castle. He had made it very clear that unless it was a dire emergency he was not to be disturbed while he was inside. There was only one servant he let in here to clean, and that was only because he didn't want to lower himself to do such menial work. He did have far more important things to do after all. At least it was a servant he trusted…or at least trusted as much as he ever trusted anyone. It was amazing how grateful people could be to you for making their lives 'better' in some way.

However, despite all his dire warnings there were still those that dared to brave his wrath. No, less than that, there was really only one person who tried his patience like that on a regular basis, and he could feel that particular cosmo coming towards him now. The fool wasn't making any effort to hide it at _all_…although that might have been on purpose. Cahir knew him well enough to know the consequences for actually sneaking up on him.

Almost as if the mere thought of his name had summoned the younger man, there was a knock on the door then it was unceremoniously thrown open.

"Mission complete," Cahir called out as he sauntered in. "Although I have to ask, why must you always send me after some the ugliest men you can possibly imagine? They're all brutes the lot of….them." There was a slight pause in the younger mans words as a black arrow hissed past his ear to slam into the frame of the doorway. When Cahir looked up at him with a raised eyebrow, Duglad was careful to only give his student a stern glare. He was smart enough to figure out what he had done on his own at this point.

Within a few seconds Cahir sighed and turned to pluck the arrow out of the wood.

"Fine," he said as he turned back around and casually tossed the arrow towards his master. "I shall knock next time. Do you really have to be so dramatic about it?"

"Enough," Duglad growled as he caught the arrow. "I do not need to hear any of your complaints. Just tell me how the mission went."

"I already said I completed it, didn't I?" Cahir crossed the room towards the hard wooden couch that was again one wall. He paused and scowled at it in displeasure, then carefully arranged the pillows one of the servants had left there before draping himself over it. "I eliminated the target you sent me after with minimal fuss, and I made sure that those around him knew it was because he dared to go back on a deal he had made. I doubt there will be anyone to look too closely at his death at any rate, considering the sort of person he was."

"As long as the deed is done, and blame was not traced back to you, then you have done well," Dugald went to sit at his desk. "What about the rest of your mission? Did you get the information he promised?"

"Yes, of course," Cahir almost seemed to pout, "I kept telling you that I finished the mission, and that does mean totally. I got that information, and before you ask, yes, I confirmed as much of it as I could myself." He raised his hand and waved it in a vague direction. "Our shining-golden counterparts have indeed returned from the great beyond."

"…So they came back," Duglad muttered as he tapped a finger on his desk. "I had been sure that was only exaggeration." He didn't bother to question if it really was true. Cahir might be frivolous and annoying but he was through in his work and wouldn't bother to report it if it had been only rumors.

"I assure it's not," Cahir sighed. "I did get close enough to feel their cosmos, and yes I was hiding my own. I have no desire to get involved in a fight with more than one of _them _at a time."

"Did you manage to pick up any rumors how they returned?" Duglad knew better than to think his student had come straight back. Throughout he might be thorough in his duties, but Cahir also had a tendency to wander off to his own pleasure once those duties were complete.

"A few but none of them truly reliable or informative," Cahir waved his hand in vague direction again. "The most I could gather was that everyone one assumed it was the doing of a god, which would have been rather obvious to anyone with sense, but no one was sure quite which on it was." The Black Capricorn Saint started to tick off names on his fingers. "I have heard it was the dear Lady Athena herself, that it was Perspherone, that it was Poseidon, even that it was Hades if you can believe that, and that it might be Hermes." He let his hand drop. "Of course that's really the very tip of the ice burg when it comes to rumors of what really happen, but the first is the one I considered to be the most likely."

"…I would like to hear those other rumors at some point, but I believe you are right in your assumption." Dugald stood up and walked over to a window to look out over the lake. "Athena is truly the most likely culprit, but I'm not sure that she would have the sort of powers required for it."

"Well she _is _a goddess after all," Cahir drawled, "even if she does happen to have a mortal body at the moment I imagine if she truly wanted her dear departed warriors back it would be easy for her to find a way to go about it.

"True enough," Dugald replied, "but you know as well as I do that each god or goddess is limited in what they can do. As far as I can remember, life and death were never what Athena was known for."

"Again, she's a _goddess_," Cahir said, "if she really wants to it done, she will _find _a way to get it done. I really think you're thinking to hard about this. Shouldn't we be paying attention to the outcome more than the reason for it?" As soon as he said those words, Cahir realized that he had gone to far. There was a subtle shift in Dugald's stance, a sudden intensity in his eyes as he glared straight at his student. Cahir knew it of old and he tried to stop his muscles form tensing but it was useless. It was like watching a hawk focus in on its prey. Although the Black Capricorn Saint would never admit it out loud, at times like this he almost feared his Master.

Dugald was one of the few people he had never been able to beat. He was just to good, to fast, to strong. Smart too, he was one of the cleverest people that Cahir had ever met. He was also the one person that he had no desire to fight against.

"It is important," Dugald growled, "because I like to know what my enemies are capable of. Did you forget how many times Sanctuary has triumphed against the very gods themselves? If we want to over come them then we must pay attention to every detail of their strengths!" He slammed the side of his fist against the wall. "That includes the strength of Athena herself! In order to plan any sort of action we must know exactly what all of them are capable of, and including their goddess! If we are to succeed we must know her _strengths_ as _well _as her weaknesses." He glanced at Cahir. "As much as I am loath to risk you again, I need you to find out exactly what brought them back. Take Scorpio with you. You should be able to find out something concrete between the two of you."

"Leave already?" Cahir sat up fast. "I just got back! I am not a servant to be ordered around on a whim! I want a chance to do some sort of resting before you throw me back out towards the lion's den! Send Scorpio, she's capable of at least…"

"I want both of you to go," Duglad didn't even raise his voice, didn't do anything but drop it into a tone that booked no arguments as he pinned his student with a glare. "I want both of you out there so we can be absolutely sure of the information you bring back. I do not want to hear excuses or whining form you, not this time. At the moment I am the only one capable of leading this poor excuse for a group, and not getting us killed in the process. Do I need to remind you of what happened the last time the Saints encountered Black Saints?"

"I am not a Bronze rank either," Cahir said trying to hold his gaze. "I don't see why I need to be treated like I am! Why do you think you have the authority to do so?"

"Because I am the leader here," Dugald growled, " and as such you will obey me. Unless you would like to challenge me for the title?" There was a hint of anger in his voice then. Cahir paled and quickly looked away.

"_Fine_," he sighed as he stood up. "I'll go! You really need to stop being so testy about things!"

"Be cautious," Dugald said, settling back in his chair in satisfaction. "I don't want them becoming suspicious. Right now they seem to think that the Bronze Black Saints were some sort of isolated instance. I do not want them figuring out how well organized we are."

"I am aware of that, thank you," Cahir said. "They won't even see my Cloth. I doubt they'll even think of me being one if they consider us some sort of fairy tale at best."

"Be sure of that," Duglad looked him over. "And change first. I don't want you to stand out either." The Black Sagittarius Saint had little use for most fashion and paid scant attention to trends, but he was sure that the outfit his student was wearing, something like a tight back vest that was buttoned down only part way so it exposed his stomach, tight black pants that looked as if they had been painted on, and thigh high black high heeled boots, would attract some comments no matter the quarter.

"Must you ruin my fun?" Cahir pouted. Dugald just gave him a Look , to which he responded with an an exaggerated sigh. "Fine, fine, I'll change before I go look for Scorpio. Is there anything _else_, Oh wise leader?"

"Just one thing," Duglad said mildly. "Remember that the end the Saints gave the Black Bronze Saints was outright merciful compared to what I would have done to them for exposing us. I do not take such threats lightly."

Cahir swallowed. "I will remember that….Master."


End file.
